TOM ZASTAWNY WHIPS UP A CAESAR SALAD TABLESIDE AT LEMONT. | PHOTOS BY KRISTY GRAVER

I’m willing to bet I’m the only person who’s ever worn a “Creepshow” T-shirt to LeMont.

To be honest, the iconic Mount Washington restaurant used to intimidate me. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh but didn’t begin to explore its fine dining scene until later in life. LeMont, with its marble floors, chandeliers, maître d’ and rack of lamb, seemed a little too fancypants for this threadbare foodie.

My, how times have changed, even if my wardrobe hasn’t.

When I learned that LeMont’s new executive chef was a guy from my old stomping grounds in Plum, I took it as a sign and made a reservation.

As a teenager, Michael Campbell bussed tables and stocked the salad bar at Eat’n Park. During his junior year of high school, he attended a homecoming dinner at LeMont, a place known for its tableside Caesar salad.

After a stint at “The Place for Smiles,” the Pitcairn native worked as a line cook at Uno Pizzeria in Monroeville, helped the company open eateries across the country and later used his culinary skills to conduct menu research and development for the Chicago-based chain. Since then he’s helmed scratch kitchens in Napa Valley, New York City, New Jersey, Florida and throughout the ‘Burgh.

You can find his seasonal dishes — including Lobster Boursin Flatbread and Firecracker Shrimp — mixed in with LeMont’s traditional favorites such as Steak Diane and Chateaubriand for Two (both prepared tableside), roasted raspberry duck, lemon herb airline chicken and New Zealand rack of lamb. The lounge has its own menu. Try the filet kebobs while you listen to live music on Friday and Saturday evenings.

No matter where you sit, it’s an experience.

“LeMont,” Campbell says, “is a step above fine dining.”

And it’s more than a few steps above the city. My girlfriend, Dre, (who hails from flat-as-a-pancake Ohio) and I dined at LeMont on a clear day in February. As the sun went down, the skyline began to sparkle. I’ve never seen Pittsburgh look more picturesque.

We pulled our gaze away from the windows long enough to watch a tuxedoed Tom Zastawny whip up a Caesar salad. The longtime employee gleefully tossed hearts of Romaine with anchovies, mustard, pasteurized egg yolks, lemon, garlic, imported Parmesan cheese and seasoned croutons. It’s the first time this burger-lovin’ carnivore has been wowed by a salad.

Related: These Are the Best Burgers in Pittsburgh

Since 1983, Zastawny’s tableside showmanship has dazzled patrons, including celebrity guests Johnny Carson, Wayne Gretzky, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Robert Downey Jr. (on his birthday!) and Stephen King (OK, maybe he wore a “Creepshow” T-shirt, too).

In the kitchen, Campbell prepared Seafood Aglio, linguini with jumbo crab meat, jumbo shrimp and lobster claw meat, tossed with oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, Pecorino cheese and white wine, and a steak so tender my butter knife sliced through it with ease.

Campbell is coming up on a year at the Grandview Avenue institution, which opened in 1960. Many of his co-workers have been there for more than four decades.

“They’re people who know the clientele and know the restaurant and know the business inside and out,” he says. “I rely on their background and knowledge. I’ve put my own twist on things. I work around classic dishes with new energy and flavor.”

Forty-three years ago, General Manager Marco Corona, who grew up in Mount Washington, followed in the footsteps of his three older brothers and began washing pots at LeMont. He never left, even when he got another full-time job as a social studies teacher for Pittsburgh Public Schools. He retired from academics as an administrator in 2021.

Now that he’s down to just one career, Corona feels like he’s on vacation, even when he’s on the clock.

“A lot of us have been here a long time,” he says. “It’s like a big family.”

Members of his LeMont clan include Banquet Manager Bill Laughlin (44 years) and server Beth Hayes (35 years).

Laughlin, who is also native to the neighborhood, is in charge of nearly 1,000 events a year, including hundreds of weddings. He spent most of the pandemic placating couples when their Big Day was crashed by Covid.

Hayes attended a business luncheon at LeMont when she worked for a tech company and, soon after, traded software for silverware.

“It doesn’t feel like a job,” she says. “I love everything about it. I love meeting new people every night. I love hearing everybody’s stories. I love making it a special experience for each person. I will never steer you wrong on a food and beverage choice.”

As food editor, I eat at a lot of different places, from fast casual concepts and pop-up kitchens to trendy hot spots and food trucks. LeMont is a throwback that adapts to the ever-changing dining scene without losing its identity. It made me fall in love with Pittsburgh all over again.

“There’s a lot of culinary excitement in the city,” Corona says. “For 64 years, we’ve relied on our own recipe of meeting the greatest volume of people with more traditional items, real classics. We want to reach as many people as possible and offer as many things as we can.”

LeMont taught me that fine dining doesn’t have to be scary. Unless, of course, I’m there in a “Creepshow” T-shirt.